Georgia Tech faces long road at ACC Tournament

As one of the lowest six teams in ACC play during the regular season, Georgia Tech faces a long week this week at the ACC Tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The 13th-seeded Yellow Jackets open play Tuesday in the first of three first-round games. Georgia Tech takes on Boston College at noon, in a game televised by ESPN2 and the ACC Network (usually carried by WALB’s Bounce or Weather subchannels in Albany).

The Georgia Tech-Boston College winner faces fifth-seed N.C. State at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, with that winner taking on fourth-seed Clemson at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Georgia Tech (13-18, 6-12 ACC) has gone through a difficult season, losing 12 out of 13 in ACC play before closing the regular season with home wins over N.C. State and Wake Forest.

Still, with Georgia Tech going through a rebuilding effort, head coach Josh Pastner likes what he saw as the Yellow Jackets closed out the regular season.

“I’m really proud of our guys, way to end the regular season on this homestand with two wins,” Pastner said following the Wake Forest victory in a news conference transcript released by Georgia Tech. “We have 14 wins in ACC play over two years, which is a great accomplishment in a major rebuild as we continue to try to build the program. These are great things for us to be able to accomplish. The crowd was great both Thursday and Saturday. The energy in the building was terrific.”

Boston College (17-14, 7-11), the No. 12 seed, has lost four of its past five, the lone win coming Feb. 28 against Syracuse.

Also playing in the first round Tuesday: 10th-seeded Notre Dame against 15th-seeded Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. and No. 11 Syracuse against No. 14 Wake Forest at 7 p.m.

Virginia, Duke, Miami and Clemson received the double-byes for the tournament, which concludes Saturday. Florida State is the No. 8 seed and takes on ninth-seeded Louisville at noon on Wednesday.

Georgia Tech’s game against Boston College marks the fourth time in the past six seasons that the teams have met in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Boston College beat Georgia Tech 80-72 in overtime on Feb. 4 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

“The bench and the guys have been great all year long, even through some tough stretches,” Pastner said following the Wake Forest win. “Guys have stayed positive and upbeat. They’ve come to practice and worked with unbelievable attitudes. That is not normal in this day and age. That’s a credit to those young men and a really good culture.”